1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to packaging for power device components, and, more particularly, to packaging including dielectric overlays supporting electrical conductors which couple portions of a power device component to external high current contact leads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wire bonding of semiconductor power device components, such as 200 to 1200 volt IGBTs (integrated gate bipolar transistors) and MOSFETs (metal oxide field effect transistors), introduces inductances which significantly reduce the usable frequency range of the components. The inductances especially limit the conversion efficiency of Class E and Class D amplifiers at high current levels.
Furthermore, commercially available high-frequency, high voltage power devices are not sufficient for all design requirements. Many manufacturers offer up to 1000 volt MOSFETs in low-frequency packages such as the TO-247 standard or the DE375 series manufactured by Directed Energy, Inc. For higher frequency (above 1 MHz) and very high frequency (above 30 MHz) applications, the highest voltages available are 120 volts (60 amperes) from Motorola Corporation MOSFETs such as the MRF154-157 series, or 180 volts (16 amperes) from Hitachi Corporation's 2SK1575 MOSFET series. high-frequency power device components would be especially useful for ground heating as well as magnetic resonance imaging power amplifiers.